Memorial for man who died at Auckland’s Arkles Bay damaged for sixth time in nine days

Tyler Porter, 20, died in July 2025 at Arkles Bay. A temporary memorial for him at the North Auckland beach has been repeatedly damaged. Photo / Supplied

By Melanie Earley of RNZ

A mother whose son died at a North Auckland beach says she can’t understand why a temporary memorial for her son has become the target of damage and alleged theft.

In the past nine days, Shara-Lee Porter said a temporary memorial for her 20-year-old son Tyler Porter at a tree in front of Arkles Bay had been targeted six times with sentimental items being taken, flowers being thrown in a bin and fairy lights ripped down.

Tyler Porter died at Arkles Bay in July last year, with his body being found 11 days after he went missing.

A tree near to where he was found had since become a temporary memorial, the community called it “Tyler’s tree”, with his mum saying it was a place anyone in the community could visit to reflect on anyone they had lost.

The tree was adorned with rocks painted by local schoolchildren, with trinkets including sentimental toys, a candle, flowers, artificial plants and a photograph. Fairy lights were strung in the tree at Christmas time and had remained there until this week.

Shara-Lee said the damage appeared to have happened in the early hours of the morning and everything had been removed.

“They even ripped out the lights and left them hanging.

“There is no view worth any amount that justifies this kind of behaviour. This level of entitlement is incredibly disappointing.”

When RNZ visited Arkles Bay on Friday, there was no sign left of the memorial.

While most of the items could be replaced, Shara-Lee said sentimental items had been taken during the first incident, including a photo of her son and a small toy rubbish truck.

She hoped those items could be returned to the tree.

“I hate to think a local would do this. We are a small community, but I don’t get it ...

“Things that were clearly put there with love have not been returned. Why do they have my son’s stuff? It has no value to them. Either things have been destroyed, removed or put in the bin ... it doesn’t make sense to me.”

Shara-Lee said she and other community members had reported the incidents to police on multiple occasions, with the most recent incident happening on Wednesday morning.

So far, she said she had not heard back from police.

She said she tried speaking to neighbours but nobody had seen what happened.

Senior Sergeant Carl Fowlie from Waitematā North Police confirmed a report had been made in relation to the tree.

“We are continuing to make inquiries into the report,” he said.

Auckland Council staff and contractors were not responsible for the damage or removal of any of the items, the council’s Hibiscus and Bays & Upper Harbour area operations manager Sandra May said.

There had also been no formal approval from council for the temporary memorial, she said.

Some members of the community were against the memorial, Shara-Lee said, as they thought it was turning the beach into a “shrine” or cemetery for her son.

“I’ve never ever said it’s a shrine to my son, this is about community. The community want somewhere to sit and reflect on their own situations because so many people have faced things.

“Generally, people greet each other and talk at the tree, and it’s connected people through loss.”

Shara-Lee was in the process of trying to get a permanent memorial plaque or bench at the beach in memory of her son and planned to hand a petition to the council next week.

For now, she said she was unsure what to do next about the tree because she was exhausted dealing with the emotions the damage brought up.

Following her son’s death, Shara-Lee also started a Facebook page called “What happens after”, which she had used to blog about her son’s life and share her own experiences dealing with grief and loss.

Since starting the page, she said she had received many messages from people who had recently lost someone and ended up talking to someone else in a similar situation at the tree after walking along Arkles Bay beach.

“It’s for the community, but it can be in Tyler’s honour.”

- RNZ